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Salem Witch Trials
Jacob Davis The Salem Witch Trials of 1662-63 were a series of trials deeming if women and men practiced the forbbiden practice of witchcraft. They were corrupt and unjust trials proven driven by hysteria and fear the the people living in Salem village. Thesis: 'The Salem Witch Trials took place because of paranoia planted, and supported by the church, showing how relgion can influence horrible thing along with the good it does. Background In Europe all throught the 1300's to the end of the 1600s, there had been a witch "craze" coursing through many women, either confessing to be witches or being accused. Tens of thousands of women were executed during this time and while these trials came at the end of this "craze" that doesnt make them any less deadly or harsh. After King William's War, some colonists were scattered, and one of the places they went to was the Salem Village, present day Danvers, Massachusetts. With this many people fleeing to Massachusetts, there became much strain on the economic rivarly between competeting agricultural familes. This would be a fueling reason for the strange "Devil" work that would happen soon. The Reverend Samuel Parris, a Puritan priest, would be the cause of all of this. He was a greedy and rigid man, not gaining him much popularity among the towns people, but he was also the parent to Betty and uncle to Abigail Williams. These girls and Ann Putnam would start to have "fits", unnatural contorsion, speaking unknown language, making strange noises, and throwing things. After "recovering" from these, they would blame it on the Devil and his followers, witches, saying that they made them do it with their spells and dark and satanic magic. Superstitions where taken very seriously at this time, which is a major reason why these trials and executions were able to take place. Religion Salem Village life was governed by the precepts of the Church Music, dancing, celebration of holidays such as Christmas and Easter, were absolutely forbidden, as they supposedly had roots in The only music allowed at all was the unaccompanied singing of hymns—the folk songs of the period glorified human love and nature, and were therefore against God. Toys and especially dolls were also not allowed for children, and were considered a frivolous waste of time. Children received an education that emphasized religion and the need for strict piety to prevent their eternal damnation. Villagers were expected to go to the meeting house for three-hour sermons every Wednesday and Sunday. Village life revolved around the meeting house, and those celebrations permitted, such as those celebrating the harvest, were centered there. So the environment that was in place was pretty ripe for a sort of religious scare in the village. Trials "We judge that, in the prosecution of these and all such witchcrafts, there is need of a very critical and exquisite caution, lest by too much credulity for things received only upon the Devil's authority, there be a door opened for a long train of miserable consequences, and Satan get an advantage over us; for we should not be ignorant of his devices." This is the code that these trials were prosecuted with, and a very harsh and blinded code it was. It showed how little evidence and just hate for someone could end them up in jail or dead.In September, grand juries indicted eighteen more people. The grand jury failed to indict William Proctor, who was re-arrested on new charges. A List of just some of the trials that were held: On September 19, 1692, Giles Corey refused to plead at arraignment, and was subjected to, a form of torture in which the subject is pressed beneath an increasingly heavy load of stones, in an attempt to make him enter a plea. Four pleaded guilty and eleven others were tried and found guilty September 20, Cotton Mather wrote to Stephen Sewall, the clerk of the court: "That I may be the more capable to assist in lifting up a standard against the infernal enemy..." requesting "... a narrative of the evidence given in at the trials of half a dozen, or if you please, a dozen, of the principal witches that have been condemned." "After Execution Mr. Noyes turning him to the Bodies, said, what a sad thing it is to see Eight Firebrands of Hell hanging there. One of the convicted, Dorcas Hoar, was given a temporary reprieve, with the support of several ministers, to make a confession of being a witch. Aged Mary Bradbury escaped. Abigail Faulkner Sr. was pregnant and given a temporary reprieve (some reports from that era say that Abigail's reprieve later became a stay of charges). If wanting to see a timeline of majority of formal events recorded for the Salem Witch Trials, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Salem_witch_trials. Witches Tituba was the Parris' slave, and one of the first three to be accused of witchcraft, and the only of these three to plead guilty. Tituba knew that she could forgo further punishment and torture by saying that she was a witch. She would be put in jail, along with Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne. Tituba would indicate that these two were witches and that there was a whole witch society living under the feets of the people of Salem. This would lead to massive investigations and more "fits" by these 3 girls, and afterwards the accusation of whoever they pleased.There would be a mass amount of accusations that would follow these first three, and this would lead to over 200 people being thrown in prison and over 25 being killed by various methods. This is the one the first examples of massive hysteria in American History, being caused by isolationism, religious extremes, and false accusations. Voodoo The "witchcraft" that the girls were accusing women was highly influenced by the slaves voodoo culture, and how superstitious they were. It is one of the few institutions that transfered into white communities, one of the reasons is because it held ancestors in such high regards. This type of Voodoo, most commonly referred to as Lousianna Voodoo, has to deal with herbs, poisons, and animal charms or amulets, meant to protect oneself or harm another. Since the black to white population ratio in most southern states was so big, African traditions got inherited into white society, which would leak up to northern states as well. Punishments The punishments that these women were subjected to after they were found guilty were very harsh and cruel. Most people believe that they burned all the witches they caught. This is a common misconception, there were only 2 ways in which these women and men were killed, but that makes it no less cruel. Many of the killings in Salem were by the hanging of these women on the public gallows, but in some special cases, they were pressed to death. People who refused to plead guilty or not guilty had stones stack on top of them slowly, hoping that the continued pressure would "push" the plead out of the person being questioned. But eventually the weight of the stones would become too much and kill the them. And actually, this was used on the male "wizard' in the Salem Witch Trials, Giles Corey, after the accusation of his wife. Other women and men were killed in the prisons they were held in as well, coming up to about 13 killed. Resources 1. Billings, Warren M. "Salem Witchcraft Trials." ''Great Events from History: The Seventeenth Century 1601-1700. Ed. Larissa Juliet Taylor. 2 vols. Salem Press, 2006. Salem History Web. 20 Nov. 2013. 2. '''Salem witch trials." Britannica School.''Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. 3. "What about Witches." ''Salem Massachusetts. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. 4."The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692." The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. 5. Blumberg, Jess. "Smithsonian.com." Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian.com, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. 6. Starkey, Marion Lena. The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Inquiry into the Salem Witch Trials. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1949. Print. 7. Brattle, Thomas. "1692." Annuals of America. Opportunities and Problems at Home and Abroad. Chicago, IL: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1987. 285-92. Print.